The present invention relates generally to a system for fastening objects to a wall and, in particular, to a support means including a panel member and a pin for supporting multiple documents at one time.
It is an artifact of the office environment that documents and other objects are typically fastened to the wall of one""s work space. For some, documents or notes are fastened to the wall as a reminder of important tasks to be done. For others, a simple calendar is hung. For others still, decorative paraphernalia, such as pictures or cards, are fastened to the wall for visual aesthetics or as a statement of one""s point of view. Numerous other reasons exist for why people generally fasten things upon the wall.
Whatever the type of object desired to be hung, means must be employed to hang the object in a sufficiently sturdy fashion to prevent the object from falling down due to its own weight. In some cases, it is not required that the object be readily retrieved, permitting semi-permanent application. In other cases, quick retrieval is desired. In the former case, when it is desired to remove the object, it is of little concern that one need remove the hanging means as well. In the latter case, it is of greater concern. It is preferable to employ a support means that itself need not be removed from the wall every time it is desired to remove the object, such as a note or other document that has a short period of relevance to the user.
One support means is, of course, adhesive tape. While it is effective, it cannot be removed easily from the wall and/or the document without some risk of scarring either or both. Moreover, tape does not hold much weight. Staples may be used, but they are not desirable because of the relative difficulty of applying staples to or removing them from a wall. Another example is a thumb tack or push pin. Because thumb tacks may be used on almost any surface, they are very versatile. Tacks, however, are not very effective on cubicle partition walls, particularly with objects that are relatively heavy, such as calendars. Typically, cubicle walls are constructed with a layer of low density sound absorbing material with a fabric covering. The low density material does not support much weight. Thus, multiple tacks must be used to support such an object. For the same reason, staples are not very effective, either. Moreover, the use of a fabric covering prevents the use of tape. While clips may be used, they are not nearly as versatile in their placement on such a partition wall. Thus, a person whose work space is defined by one or more cubicle partition walls is handicapped from posting many objects, if any, on the wall.
Even with walls capable of supporting objects, particularly where wall space is limited, it is often desired to independently support more than one object (e.g., documents) via the same fastener; for example, a larger document behind a smaller document, permitting both to be viewed simultaneously. While a single thumb tack might suffice, one cannot remove the top document without removing both documents. A stapler suffers from the same problem. Tape cannot be used because it cannot hold up more than one document at a time. While a clip may be used, again it requires the release of both documents in order to retrieve one of them.
There have been some attempts to embellish tacks to permit supporting of documents without the need to penetrate the document with the pin of the tack. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,099,137 to Williams discloses a thumb tack with an integral clip formed on the head of the tack. The purpose disclosed is to support a document within the clip. No mention is made of supporting more than one document at a time. Another example is U. S. Pat. No. 5,370,487 to Kracke, which discloses a conventional thumb tack that employs a head that forms a clip for supporting papers in the same manner of the ""137 patent to Williams. U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,177 to Chamings discloses flexible fasteners that employ two wall penetrating pins that are normally not parallel but may be made parallel for insertion into the wall by squeezing two tabs on the head. It is disclosed that one of the tabs may be used for hanging objects therefrom. None of the above three references discloses an adhesive coated head for quick release of documents from the support. While adhesive coated paper notes, such as a Post-it(copyright) note, are advantageous, most documents do not come ready made with an easily removable adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,485 to Dwinell et al. discloses a fastener with an adhesive means on the head of the fastener. The Dwinell fastener is intended to solve the problem of hanging objects on cloth covered cubicle partitions, as explained therein. The disadvantage of the Dwinell et al. device, however, is that it cannot hold much weight because it is not secured to the structural wall portion of the cubicle wall. The entire weight of the object supported is carried by the fabric covering the cubicle. That is an inefficient support system. Moreover, because the fastener does not employ a rearwardly directed pin, the pin does not function as a means for independently supporting objects such as a document. That function is served only by the adhesive covered head.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to provide a support means that includes an adhesive surface so that one or more documents may be held against the wall by the pressure of a pin head while the adhesive could hold a separate document, for independent release of the documents. It would also be advantageous to have a multi-document support system that is configured to permit effective use with cubicle partition walls, particularly the type that employ thick padded walls.
The present invention comprises a support means having a rearwardly projecting pin of sufficient strength and length to project well into a cubicle wall padding to securely hold the support means in place. The pin may be used to secure a first object to the cubicle wall. The support means further comprises a panel member that includes on one face thereof means for releasably adhering a second object thereto, such that the second object may be released without having to remove the support means from the cubicle wall or without disturbing the first object. The invention further comprises a hanging support that functions to support yet additional documents or things where in the hanging support is itself supported by the pin. The result is an embodiment that may support three items at one time. In an alternative embodiment, a plurality of pins are used to permit increased size of the panel member and/or to more securely engage a wall surface. The present invention also comprises a method of supporting more than one object from a support means used to engage a cubicle partition wall, wherein the support means includes, in at least one embodiment, the features described herein.